Daily Calendar

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

As many of you may (or may not?) know, it's tax time! Meaning of course everyone is getting their tax checks! Time to pony up and get that used car, or a vacation, or for people like me and jim -- a 300 dollar shopping spree at the hobby store!!!
So on top of all the special yarn and sketchbooks and antique-looking treasure chests we found (a long with many "booty" related pirate jokes...) I managed to grab some modeling clay. For a seriously long time, i've been oggling those teensy tiny miniatures that so many of you out there make daily. Cakes, sweets, ocotopi (I totally have a hidden love for octopi and squids...), chibis, entire kitchen sets -- all mini-sized!! (It makes me SQUEE!) And i'll admit -- i was a little jealous. How could these people possibly be so talented as to make play-doh look like delicious moist decadant cake!?
Well, first off i found out that it's not play-doh. It's called "modeling clay". (Which i guess technically Play-doh could be called that too, but just work with me here...) The difference between them is actually really simple. (i.e: i learned it on google this morning.)

Water-based clays -- These clays are often air-drying like Cold Porcelain (and play-dough... except play-dough looks moldy when it dries. Ick...). They don't usually need baking (although you can) and they need to be kept in an air-tight container if un-used. They WILL eventually dry out though.

Oil-based clays -- These clays are called "non-drying" or "never-drying" because there's no water to evaporate (thus drying it). In order for you to keep your creation when it's finished, you have to take two things into consideration:

Is it a Plasticine clay? -- Plasticine clays are clays that will never ever ever EVER dry out. Meaning literally, it will last pretty much forever. It'll get stiff when it gets cold, but it will never truly harden and can always be smushed if it falls or if your little sibling wants to play with it. The good points? It's easily remodle-able and you have an infinite amount of time to scrutinize over something without worrying if it's going to dry. This is awesome for making temporary molds, stop-motion animations (Gumby!) or just letting your kids play with it until they get tired and you don't have to go out and buy more brand-name "art dough" for 20 bucks. The stuff is cheap and colorful and easily available! The cons? It NEVER FRIKKING DRIES.

Is it a Polymer clay? -- Polymer clay is like the stuff of the frikkin' gods. It can dry in the air, you can bake it and let it harden and use it for all kinds of stuff. Cover a box with it, make my little ponies out of it -- pendants, charms, earrings! (oh my!) this stuff has endless possibilities. (Hell it even comes in "translucent" and liquid forms!!

So of course today i decided to break open my $15 box of 18 bright assorted colors and see if i couldn't make the My little pony of my dreams! Only problem? The box was merely labled "Creative Art Clay". No ingredients list, no baking time, hell there wasn't even an address o.O!! Was it Polymer? Plasticine? What the hell was this shit!?
In the name of all things crafty, i quickly picked the ugliest color i had (nasty orangish-pink-salmon-barf) and formed two cubes (turning them into dice with a few holes poked into them in case this actually worked...) and set the oven for 250 degrees (average baking temp from what i googled). Once the thing was preheated and ready to go, i set the timer for 15 minutes and waited....
Seven minutes later.... i found goo. All. Over. My. Mom's. Pan.
On the plus side, i found out it was Plasticine clay!! Bad side? The vision of my perfect pony fell out of my hands quicker than i could have sketched them down....
So what's a girl to do with (essentially) 15 bucks worth of the most expensive play-doh in the craft store?

I go completely nerdy and make a bust of my WoW character that's what!

Er... kind of?

Okay, that's bad. That's Craftfail kind of bad... Actually, close-up she kind of reminds me of the guy from Goonies who likes the candybars... (Hey you guys!) Leeeeeeeeeeet's just ignore that i ever mentioned this monstrosity and move on to people who actually know what they're doing with clay... k? Good!

First up, Unladylikelyand her best friend have adorned simple wooden dowels with this pliable paste and have created the most amazing homemade harry potter memorabilia i've ever seen! Wands? Nerdtastic!

Now someone out there, knows how to render 3D models into a perfect polymer replica! lilninjabearhas sculpted up an adorable murloc baby!! (I have a huge soft-spot for murlocs... the quest where you drag the babies on the trunk back into the ocean makes me tear up. Srsly.)

D'aww! I wanna cuddle 'im!

Now on the complete opposite end of the totally nerdy spectrum, we have maxxevwho has combined the art of knitting, with the art of illusion (*waves hands magically and throws glitter*) thus creating...

(Bum, bum, BUMMMMM!)

The most amazing piece of polymer geekery i've ever laid eyes on! Lookit that! It's pure polymer, but it looks like it's been knitted to perfection! Sheesh, it takes me forever to get regular cables right, let alone clay ones! o.O They've also got a few other wonderful pieces they've worked on such as knitted ornaments made of clay. So pretty! Want! (Also i'm completely head-over-heels for their "knitted heart brooches" to the point where i would sell a kidney to own one. o.O)

Internet Geekdom cannot truly be achieved of course, until one has done something "Bacon"-y. Whether it be partaking in bacon breathmints, cooking bacon turtles, or even knitting a bacon scarf, bacon has become a huge part of our internet culture. (Hell, there's even a website dedicated to it o.O) So when i saw solar_jazz's "Deceptively Delicious Earrings" i couldn't help myself.

Om nom nom polymer.

But of course there are thousands of teeny tiny detailed creations out there that have been carefully and lovingly sculpted to pure perfection by some of the most talented people. If you don't believe me, check out my DevArt fav's and take a look for yourself. Hell, i've even favorite'd a few tutorials for when i can go grab me some Fimo next month! (If you'd like me to favorite one of your creations, or one of your favorite artist's creations, leave me a note and i'll totally check it out!) After all, that's how i found Christopher Blake and his teeny tiny wonders of pure awesome-sauce.

Not only does he sculpt some dangerously delicious miniatures, but he's also created shoebox-like dioramas with miniature shops and rooms! (Squee!). He says he'd love to have a giveaway for every 100 followers he gets, so why not pop over and see what he's got at his blog? If not for the future giveaways, then to check out his itty bitty nom-ables!

If you have a certain hobby or craft that relates to pure geekdom, nerdery, or all-around dorkness -- please leave a comment or drop me an email! (Heck, i'll even accept them on DevArt or Facebook if you've got the time!) I'd love to hear from you guys and all about the things you love!